Meet Baby Elle Belle

Hi there! I’m Baby Elle Belle–the newest blogger here at New York Family Baby. Although I’m only ten months old, I’m pretty savvy when it comes to blogging–so you can expect to hear from me just about every week. That’s right. I’ll be blogging regularly from the perspective of a happy, hilarious, and sometimes harried baby, and what it’s like growing up in the city during my earliest days. Here’s a little peek into my world…

In my family, here’s what the typical dream sequence looks like: Mommy checks amazon.com yet again and finally finds exactly what she’s looking for: a book called How to Raise a Perfect Baby: A Step-by-Step Guide for Type A, Overachieving Parents, Who Are Used to Everything Going According to a Detailed Plan and On Schedule. She hits the “buy now” button before rubbing her belly and then alphabetizing her cookbooks for the third time this week.

Fast forward two months. From the moment we arrive home, Mom’s guide book works like a charm. I enjoy my three-hour schedule of eat, play, and sleep. I nurse every two hours without fail, nap at each scheduled interval for a full sixty minutes, and play like a pro. I never cry. I communicate via telepathy. My poos never are stinky and don’t require frequent changing. I don’t like dirtying myself so I simply don’t spit up. I am the perfect baby.

And here’s what the reality is like: Truth be told, I’m not a perfect baby. For instance, I cry…a lot. I sleep when I feel like it. I pee and poop often and sometimes it goes everywhere. Although I don’t mean to, I sometimes aggravate my parents. But after several months, we’re rocking and rolling and enjoying each unique day while learning from each other.

So let me tell you a little about me. I’m a baby! And while I’m almost one, I haven’t always been this slick and smart. Back as a newborn, I didn’t like to eat much. I’d fall asleep nursing and Mom would have to tickle me and nudge me along. I wanted to eat when I was hungry so I fed on demand. (Heck, does anybody eat at two-hour intervals?) And I didn’t like to sleep on schedule. I wanted to rest during the day so I could really enjoy life at night. Or if Daddy was holding me, I liked to sleep on his chest. He’s so much more comfy than my crib mattress. Plus, I wasn’t ready to play. My activity mat was cool and all but I just wanted to be held and loved. The world was, and still is, so new to me and I’m just trying to figure it all out. Ten months later so much has changed and I cannot wait to tell you more about it, but first things first…

If you’re going to follow my adventures please have an open mind and an open heart. After all, I’m still just a baby and tend to be very sensitive. (I know this because all my diapers and wipes and things say so!) I have a lot of important observations to share, and cannot wait to give you inside access to Elle Belle’s head so you big people can finally understand what us little babies are trying to communicate.

We’re brilliant communicators if you pay close attention. You’ll see that I have oodles of important info on babies to share from how to win nap time battles to how to prevent your ambitious tot from scaling the walls and escaping from his or her crib. Most important, because everything is so new and exciting, I hope you’ll appreciate my enthusiasm and find the happy baby inside of you, too.

Elle Belle is a beautiful baby girl who lives in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her magnificent mommy, dapper dad, and her five-year-old four-legged brother (who’s adopted). She enjoys reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, trying new foods, doing yoga, taking walks in Central Park, putting things in her mouth, and cruising around NYC in her stroller while making everyone smile wherever she goes. She can be reached LilElleBelle@gmail.com and found on http://tugsonmyheartstrings.blogspot.com/.